Controlled-access highways in Romania are dual carriageways, grade separated with controlled-access, designed for high speeds. There are two types of highways, motorways (, sing. Autostradă) and expressways (, sing. Drum expres), with the main difference being that motorways have emergency lanes and slightly wider lanes. The maximum allowed speed limit for motorways is , while for expressways the limit is . There are no toll roads, but a road vignette(rovinietă) is required.
The first construction works began in 1967, and the first highway segment was opened in 1972. However, extension of the high-speed road network lagged behind until after EU accession in 2007, when improved utilization of the allocated EU funds enabled Romania to speed up the expansion of its highway network.
Only A2, A10 and DEx12 are completed, while A1 is mostly completed with all its remaining sections currently being built. A3 has five segments that are currently in use, with most of the remaining ones being in various stages of construction or tendering. A4, A6, A11 and DEx4 currently have only small segments in use. DEx12 was the first expressway to be opened in 2022. Construction contracts for part of A0, A7, A8, A9, A13, DEx6, DEx11 and DEx14 are in various stages of execution or tendering.
As of 18 September 2026, there are 1,475.775 km of highways in service (of which 1,338.019 km motorways and 137.756 km expressways – 31.08.2026), with another 967 km with signed contracts in various stages of execution, and another 348 km being tendered.
Legislation
In 2012, legislation amendments defined two types of highways: motorways () and expressways (). Motorways are identified by A followed by a number while expressways are identified by DEx followed by a number.
There are almost no tolls for using roads in Romania, with exception of large bridges. There is one at the Giurgeni – Vadu Oii Bridge over the river Danube on highway DN2A/E60 at Vadu Oii and one at the Cernavodă Bridge, on the A2 motorway/E81. There is another bridge, the Brăila Bridge that crosses the Danube, on the highway DN2S/E87 into Tulcea County that is toll free from 2023 until 2028. Nevertheless, every owner of a car that uses a motorway (A), an expressway (DEx) or a national road (DN) in Romania must purchase a vignette (rovinietă) from any of the main petrol stations or at any post office throughout the country.
The main differences are that motorways have wide emergency lanes (3 m) and slightly wider traffic lanes (by 3.75 versus 3.5 m). Expressways only have a narrow 1.5 m gravel roadside on the right side, added to the 0.5 m asphalted road edges, and may not have acceleration and deceleration lanes in mountainous areas. The maximum allowed speed limit is ( during poor conditions), while expressways have a maximum speed limit of . Generally, feasibility studies for motorways have a minimum projected speed of 100 km/h, while for expressways, it is reduced to 80 km/h.
History
+Controlled-access network size Year Opened (km) Total (km) 1972 95.5 95.5 1987 17.6 113.1 2004 97.3 210.4 2007 50.2 260.6 2009 41.5 302 2010 27.8 329.8 2011 55.3 385.1 2012 139.5 524.6 2013 107.7 632.3 2014 50.9 683.1 2015 46 729.1 2017 15.4 744.6 2018 59.5 804.1 2019 43.3 847.4 2020 61.3 908.7 2021 30.3 938.9 2022 53 991.9 2023 80.5 1,072.4 2024 199.4 1,271.8 2025 144.6 1,416.4 2026 59.3 1,475.8
First projects
The construction of the first motorway in Romania began in 1967, and the first segment of the A1 motorway, from Pitești to the capital Bucharest was opened in 1972 with a total length of 96 km. During the building of this motorway, a general plan was released in 1969, detailing the building of motorways in the incoming years, however, due to low volumes of traffic, the communist regime focused on improving current roads instead. Until the collapse of the communist regime in 1989, the building of a second motorway between Bucharest and Constanța had been planned, but only an 18 km long segment of A2 from Fetești to Cernavodă opened in 1987.
In the 1990s, the transition from a centralized economy to a market economy severely limited investment into infrastructure projects, and the entire motorway network totaled 113 km for many years until the construction project of A2 was resumed in 1998. Actual construction began in 2001, and three segments were finally opened in 2004 (Bucharest – Fundulea – Lehliu – Drajna) and another in 2007 (Drajna – Fetești) totaling around 130 km. The A1 motorway was extended also in 2007 with the Pitești bypass. A large sector of A3, termed "Transylvania Motorway", was awarded controversially in 2004 without bidding to the American Bechtel Corporation. Large cost overruns and delays ensued for this project, and after political controversies, most of the contracts were cancelled, and only some 50 km of the Cluj bypass (Gilău – Turda – Câmpia Turzii) were opened between 2009 and 2010, at much larger costs than initially signed in the contract.
Accessing EU funds
After joining the European Union in 2007, Romania was able to access funds for infrastructure development more easily, especially for those part of the Pan-European Corridor IV overlapping with A1 and A2 motorways. Many segments of the A1 motorway were started, and by the end of 2011 around 85 km were partially or fully opened: A1 segments Timișoara – Arad and Sibiu bypass; A2 segment Murfatlar – Constanța; A4 Constanța bypass and A11 Arad bypass. In 2012 more segments were opened on A1 (Deva – Simeria), A2 (Cernavodă – Murfatlar), A4, and the first A3 segment not built by Bechtel (Bucharest – Ploiești). More segments were opened over the next few years: on A1 (part of Lugoj – Deva, Sibiu – Orăștie – Simeria, Arad – Nădlac, Timișoara – Lugoj), A6 (Balinț – Lugoj), and A4. A total of 726.6 km of motorways were in use in Romania in December 2015.
Political debates and changes in priorities of left-leaning parties after 2014 greatly slowed down motorway projects. With no new openings in 2016, a small segment part of Lugoj – Deva opening in 2017, almost half of the A10 (Aiud – Turda), and part of A3 (Ungheni – Iernut, Gilău – Nădășelu, and the entrance into Bucharest) brought the total to over 800 km at the end of 2018. Two more segments of the A1 opened in 2019 (between Coșevița and Deva), providing an almost fully opened motorway (excluding a segment of 13.5 km) between the border with Hungary and Sibiu. In 2020, more segments were opened, on A3 (Biharia − Borș, Iernut − Chețani, Râșnov − Cristian), on A10 (Sebeș – Alba Iulia), and the first segment of A7 (Bacău bypass) bringing the total to over 900 km of highways. In 2021, A10 completely opened (Alba Iulia – Aiud) and a segment of A3 (Târgu Mureș – Ungheni) opened to traffic.VIDEO| Se CIRCULĂ pe TOATĂ autostrada A10 Sebeș-Turda: Alba Iulia, legată de Cluj, Sibiu și Deva prin drumuri de mare vitezăUn nou ciot de 4,5 km de autostradă, deschis în România. Grindeanu: Rezultate concrete, nu festivism In 2022 the first segment of an expressway-class road in Romania open for traffic, the DEx12 expressway: between Balș and Slatina (16.0 km), and Slatina bypass.
Current projects
As of December 2023, over 750 km of controlled-access roads have contracted for construction. These contracts include: part of the A3 (some 68.6 km), all segments of the A1 between Sibiu – Pitești (122.9 km), almost all of the Bucharest Ring Motorway (91.4 km), a section of the A8 (29.9 km), as well as most segments of the A7 (319 km).
Currently the only completed motorways are A2 and A10. The unfinished segments of A1 and A3 are in various stages of tendering and construction, with multiple segments likely to finish by 2024-2028.
A few more motorways have received active discussion, including the termed A0 Bucharest Motorway Ring Road as an outer ring to the Bucharest Ring Road, with construction contracts signed or tendered for all of its 100 km length. The A7 motorway, between Ploiești and the border with Ukraine, has been planned to be part of the Pan-European Corridor IX, but so far only the Bacău bypass has been built. However, PNRR funding is ensured for most of its segments, with tendering contracts existing for its first 320 km till Pașcani. Beyond Pașcani, the Corridor IX is envisioned to be covered by the A8 (the East–West Motorway, a link between Moldavia and Transylvania), with the first construction contract signed in 2023. Highways crossing the Carpathian Mountains have been delayed due to large costs, with debates on whether to build the A3 (through long-term concession contracts) or the A1 (EU funds would cover most of the cost). The A13 motorway is planned to serve as an alternative to link the A1 and the A3, then to the A7, with the first 68 km currently being under construction.
A9 is planned to link A1 to Serbia, with plans to sign the first construction contracts not earlier than 2023. Expressways extending the current A11 as well as the DEx6 linking Galați and Brăila are currently being constructed. Plans to extend the current network with expressways exist for A4, A5 (planned to link to Bulgaria), A6, and A14 corridors, as well as several other smaller ones.
Future timeline Contracted segments with estimated openings:
2026 Pitești - Sibiu, section 4 between Curtea de Argeș - Tigveni (9.861 km) (Q4) Bucharest North Ring, sections 3 and 4 between Afumați (DN2) - Căldăraru (A2) (13.07 km) (Q4) Bucharest North Ring, section 1 between Săbăreni (DN7) - Corbeanca (10.6 km) [+2.4 km A0-North 2] (Q4) Bacău - Pașcani, sections 1 and 2 between Bacău - Săbăoani (49.3 km) (Q4) Gilău - Borș, section 3C1 between Suplacu de Barcău - Chiribiș (20.25 km) (Q4) Brăila - Galați (10.77 km) (Q4) Gilău - Borș, sections 3A2 and 3B1 between Nădășelu - Zimbor (30.6 km) (Q4) Gilău - Borș, sections 3C1 and 3C2 between Chiribiș - Biharia (34.65 km) (Q4) Bucharest North Ring, section 1 between Bâcu (DJ601A) - Săbăreni (DN7) (6.9 km) [+2.5 km A0-South 3] (Q4) Bacău - Pașcani, section 3 between Săbăoani - Mogoșești Siret (9.88 km) (Q4) Total: 200.781 km
2027 Deva - Lugoj, section 2E between Holdea - Margina (9.13 km) Bacău - Pașcani, section 3 between Mogoșești Siret - Pașcani (18.213 km) Târgu Mureș - Ditrău, section 1A between Gheorge Doja (A3) - Miercurea Nirajului (DJ135) (24.39 km) Ditrău - Târgu Neamț, section 2D between Vânători-Neamț (DN15B) - Boureni (DN2) (29.912 km) Boița (A1) - Făgăraș, sections 3 and 4 between, Arpașu de Jos (DN1) - Sâmbăta de Sus (DJ105B) (17.61 km), and Sâmbăta de Sus (DJ105B) - Făgăraș (DC67) (16.265 km) Satu Mare - Oar (10.83 km) Total: 126.35 km
2028 Pitești - Sibiu, section 2 between Copăceni - Boița (31.33 km) Pitești - Sibiu, section 3 Tigveni - Copăceni (37.4 km) Târgu Mureș - Ditrău, section 1B between Miercurea Nirajului (DJ135) - Sărățeni (DN13A) (23.4 km) Târgu Mureș - Ditrău, section 1D between Joseni (DN13B) - Ditrău (DN12) (14.4 km) Târgu Neamț - Iași - Ungheni, section 1 between Boureni (DN2) - Pașcani ( ) (5.50 km) Boița (A1) - Făgăraș, sections 1 and 2 between Boița (A1) - Mârșa (DJ105G) (14.253 km), Mârșa (DJ105G) - Arpașu de Jos (DN1) (19.922 km) Arad - Oradea, section 1 between Oradea - Salonta (33.7 km) Arad - Oradea, section 2 between Salonta - Chișineu-Criș (39.7 km) Arad - Oradea, section 3 between Arad - Chișineu-Criș (47.07 km) Salonta - Újszalonta (HU) (10 km) Pucioasa - Fieni (12.68 km) Total: 275.102 km
2029 Pașcani - Suceava, section 1 between Pașcani - Roșcani (33.00 km) Pașcani - Suceava, section 2 between Roșcani - Suceava (28.97 km) Ditrău - Târgu Neamț, section 2A between Ditrău (DN12) - Grințieș (DN15) (37.9 km) Ditrău - Târgu Neamț, section 2C between Pipirig (DN15B) - Vânători Neamț (DN15B) (19.3 km) Focșani - Brăila (73.524 km) Total: 192.694 km
2030 Târgu Mureș - Ditrău, section 1C between Sărățeni (DN13A) - Joseni (DN13B) (32.4 km) Ditrău - Târgu Neamț, section 2B between Grințieș (DN15) - Pipirig (DN15B) (31.5 km)